Barcelona president Joan Laporta, upon arriving in the U.S. for the Spain-France World Cup semifinal.

“We’re very excited about Adeyemi. We’ve liked him for a while now. He’s dangerous and fast, and Deco handled the signing very well. The news came out at just the right time,” he emphasized.

As for Atlético’s Argentine forward, Julián Álvarez, who is the top target to lead the attack, he said: “Obviously, we’re not going to dance to anyone else’s tune. We’ll set the pace. We’ve made an offer that isn’t open-ended, and we’ll announce when the time comes how long the offer will remain valid. The offer was made with the aim of signing the player that the sporting director and the coach like. I think he’s a fantastic player. We’re maintaining a significant offer, but it won’t be open-ended.”

He was categorical about the rumors regarding Rafinha’s potential sale. “Rafinha is staying. We have no interest in him leaving Barça. He’s a key player. With Gordon and Adeyemi, I see that we’re strengthening our attack, but that doesn’t mean we’ll let Rafinha go, as he’s important to us. It’s a shame that last season he wasn’t able to be at his best in the final stages of La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey. The results would have been different,” he said.

Regarding the possibility of Ferran Torres joining Paris, he said: “I’ve heard something about that, but we have no confirmation. He’s a Barça player. Ferran is doing very well at the World Cup. Every time he comes on, he’s dangerous. He made that pass to Merino, which was excellent. Anyway, we have great players here at the World Cup, and that’s why I’m here, too.”

*photo source: AP